The Epic City of Swansea Show 🎪

Have you made plans for the bank holiday weekend? If you lived in Swansea during the 1980s and 1990s, chances are that this time of year meant one thing - heading to an annual show in the city that attracted over 15,000 people - and definitely didn’t do anything by halves. This week, learn all about it.

Catch you on Sunday!
Andrew

Over the spring bank holiday during the 1980s and 1990s, The City of Swansea Show transformed Singleton Park into a huge celebration of rural and urban life - featuring everything from horse and cart driving to show jumping, a dog show with 100 different sections (and later a cat show), jugglers, rabbit and goat shows, crafts, and a Taste of Wales food tent.

Plus, funfair, military displays, sheepdog demonstrations, Morris dancers, a falconry display, ferret racing, archery, cockerels, fly casting and fishing clinics, clay pigeon shooting, children’s fun (including face painting and, one year, a recreation of Duel from Gladiators) a honey exhibition, farm animals, live music (Hot Chocolate performed in 1994), and more.

All this for a ticket that cost just a couple of pounds per person (half price after 3pm), and free parking. But that’s not all…

As well as the show staples, daredevil attractions drew in crowds from miles around, with performances including medieval jousting by the Anglian Knights, who attended in 1990.

In 1993, the show brought Swansea residents the sight of 'skiing on air,' as part of the Xantia Ski Show featuring Olympic gold medalist Philippe La Roche, silver medalist Nicholas Fontaine, and former British trampoline champion Richard Cobbing performing freestyle aerial stunts over four shows throughout the day.

The RAF Falcons Parachute Team made an appearance on several occasions too, dropping into the park in their distinctive black and red colours.

Despite the Welsh weather often doing its worst over the years, the City of Swansea Show proved to be a hugely popular day out for thousands in Swansea and beyond. The 1993 show, for example, was so wet and boggy that Swansea Airport stepped forward to insist the following year's event be held there instead.

The annual showcase was held every year for nearly a decade up until 1996, but (as far as I can tell, never again since). Would you like to see it return? 😊

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Andrew